C  124  ] 


LETTER 


FROM 


MR.  RODNEY, 


UPON  THE  SUBJECT  OF 


The  Beport  of  a  Select  Committee, 


To  examine  the  Reports  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  relation  to  the. 


"Eixaminatiou  oi  tV\e  XianA  Offices, 


( 


APRII.  29,  1822. 

Read,  and  ordered  to  lie  upon  the  table. 


WASHINGTON: 

I'KINTE*  BX  GALES  &  SEATON*. 


[124] 


3 


April  27,  1822. 

Sir;  In  a  report  made  to  the  House  of  Representatives  by  the  se¬ 
lect  committee,  to  whom  were  referred  several  communications  from 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  relative  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
land  offices  have  been  examined,  it  is  stated, 

‘‘  The  committee  believe  it  to  have  been  usual  in  the  War  Depart¬ 
ment,  also,  to  employ  members  of  Congress,  as  counsel  in  behalf  of 
the  United  States,  and  they  refer  particularly  to  the  instances  of  Mr. 
Baldwin,  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  Mr.  Rodney,  of 
Delaware,  of  the  Senate,  employed  and  paid  as  counsel,  under  the 
direction  of  the  present  Secretary  of  War.” 

With  respect  to  myself,  an  error  has  been,  unintentionally,  com¬ 
mitted;  as  I  was  not,  when  employed,  or  paid,  a  member  of  Con¬ 
gress,  either  of  the  Senate,  or  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
This  will  appear  from  the  sequel.  On  the  6th  of  March,  1820,  I 
received  a  letter  from  Major  Babcock,  of  the  corps  of  engineers, 
who  was  stationed  at  New  Castle,  requesting  my  professional  ser¬ 
vices,  in  the  case  of  an  ejectment  brought  for  the  Pea  Patch,  the 
trial  of  which  was  expected  to  take  place  at  Trenton,  in  the  circuit 
court  of  the  United  States,  for  the  district  of  New  Jersey,  on  the 
first  of  April  following.  Agreeably  to  his  desire,  I  attended  the 
court;  but  the  trial  was  postponed,  in  consequence  of  the  absence  of 
material  witnesses  on  the  part  of  the  defendant.  Rules  were  ob¬ 
tained  for  taking  their  depositions,  and  also  for  a  special  jury,  and 
for  a  survey  of  the  disputed  premises. 

In  the  summer  of  1820,  a  detailed  report  of  the  case  was  prepared 
and  transmitted  to  the  Department  of  War.  At  the  October  term, 
in  the  same  year,  I  attended  again,  at  Trenton;  and  was  there  on 
the  day  of  the  general  election  in  Delaware,  when  representa¬ 
tives  to  the  seventeenth,  or  present  Congress  were  chosen.  The  re¬ 
sult,  however,  was  not  known,  until  some  days  after  my  return. 

In  the  month  of  November,  following,  I  was  paid  for  the  services 
rendered,  and  I  have  not,  since,  been  at  the  court.  The  constitution¬ 
al  term  of  the  present  House  of  Representatives,  commenced  on  the 
4th  of  March,  1821.  Until  that  period  arrived,  I  was  not  a  member 
of  Congress,  and  might  have  held  any  other  incompatible  office,  un¬ 
der  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  or  of  Delaware. 

The  legislatu»’e  of  the  state  of  Delaware  chose  me  a  Senator  of 
the  United  States  on  the  10th  of  January  last;  but  the  certificate  of 
my  election  was  not  received,  in  consequence  of  my  absence  from  se¬ 
vere  indisposition,  until  the  24th  of  that  month,  when  I  took  my  seat 
in  the  Senate. 


4 


[124] 


This  simple  uarrative  of  facts,  given  according  to  the  best  of  my 
recollection,  assisted  by  the  original  papers  lately  received,  is  re¬ 
spectfully  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  the  House  of  Represent¬ 
atives,  with  the  view  of  correcting  any  erroneous  impressions  which 
may  have  been  made,  by  the  unintentional  mistake  of  so  respecta¬ 
ble  a  committee. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 

C.  A.  RODNEY. 

Hon.  P-  P.  Barbour, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 


